The Halcyon Diaries
by kesshuns
Summary: Day after day, month after month, year after year. Through it all, they somehow found each other. Those were the halcyon times that kept them going.
1. Broken Promises

**Author's Note**: Hi all! I'm **kesshuns** and this is my first story. Although I've written before for FanFiction (I'm not _too_ new to this site), this _is_ my first story for the Bleach fandom! Which I'm pretty excited about, haha. This story, as you probably noticed, is an IchiHime one (I love the pairing way too much for my own good haha). This story is most likely going to be a series of fluffy one-shots that are meant to be side stories in the Bleach universe. Meaning that this story will pretty much stick to the anime/manga, more or less! My goal is to try to create a believable IchiHime romance using what the anime and manga have given us so far. Really, all I want is to create canon IchiHime. XP

Writing isn't my forte (still sorta learning how to string a good story together), so bear with me while you're reading this! I would love some feedback if you're reading this and come across anything you can point out. :)

Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to click the link to this story! Whether you like it or not, I will unconditionally love you for it haha. :3 Without further ado, here's the first oneshot in this series! Hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

_If someone said three years from now  
You'd be long gone  
I'd stand up and punch them out  
__**Who Knew, Pink**_

* * *

**1/Broken Promises**

He could sense that it was about to rain long before he heard the pitter-patter of the droplets atop the roof. In fact, he knew it even before he saw the dark, otherworldly clouds looming across the Karakura Town horizon. It was just something he had always been acutely aware of. Hours - sometimes even days - before the storm he would feel the humidity surrounding him, suffocating him as if something overbearing was in his way. The feeling was always so heartbreakingly similar to that day, so familiar that he felt himself wanting to cry along with the skies. But he had made a promise to himself, long ago, that he wouldn't cry anymore.

He refused to be weak and powerless.

Ichigo climbed onto the couch that sat nearest to a window, using its back to place his elbows comfortably. He watched the droplets hit the window pane and slowly trickle down until they reached the bottom edge. He knew his father hated it when he did this. The crazy old man always told him to get up off his ass and start acting like a "kid" instead of "moping around every single day", whatever that meant. Twelve-year-old Ichigo didn't understand why it wasn't okay to be a little serious from time to time. He knew most kids his age were hyperactive, incredibly cheerful and slightly insane. Ichigo made a face and watched his reflection in the window do the same. He felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he noticed how similar this face was to his dad's. The eldest Kurosaki was a weird one, that was for sure.

He was still making the face when he saw something in the streets behind his reflection. The glare against the window was making it incredibly hard for him to focus on what it was, so he pressed his face up to the window, using his hands to shield his eyes from the light. What he saw made his heart stop.

It was her fiery hair that had caught his attention; auburn locks that were not unlike his own. It was just slightly longer, though, and hung in loose wet ringlets at the sides of her face. Some of the strands were plastered to her cheek, although she didn't seem to care. In fact, she wasn't concerned about being in the downpour at all. Her stormy eyes were wide and frantic. Somehow, however, they held an air of determination. Ichigo's own eyes examined her carefully. He could see that her petite form was slightly hunched over, supporting something that she was clinging onto tightly and that was mostly around her shoulders.

A man.

He was incredibly pale and appeared to be in rough shape, coughing and barely able to stand from being on the verge of unconsciousness. The girl was practically dragging him along, her will the only thing that kept them stumbling forwards. But they were both fighting a losing battle; with a sickening thud, the man dropped to his knees, pulling the young girl with him, just mere steps away from Ichigo's house. Although she landed face first in a nearby puddle, she simply got up without worrying about her own injuries. Her body rocked as she began yelling muffled words and trying to startle him awake.

Her cries were in vain.

Ichigo moved without thinking, hurtling to the door and throwing it open, allowing a ray of light to shine on the pair. The girl looked up momentarily, her face streaked with rain and tears. Tiredly, she gave him a smile that didn't reach her cloudy eyes. She then went back to the man before her, repeating the then muffled words that Ichigo hadn't heard through the window.

"Onii-chan!"

The approaching footsteps of his father were lost upon his ears. There was only one thing that resonated within him.

_"Mom!" She was still. Incredibly, startlingly still. "Mom, wake up!"_

He felt his blood run cold. The humid summer air pressed against him from all sides. He couldn't move.

"Ichigo!" Kurosaki Isshin's thundering voice managed to break the trance that had ensnared his son, although he didn't quite turn; he twitched. He was unable to take his eyes away from the two before him. "My stupid son! What are you–" Ichigo heard the footsteps approach faster when he didn't respond. His brown eyes mimicked Ichigo's when he saw what had happened; he, too, stopped and stared at the scene before him. Something appeared to register, for his expression darkened. But unlike Ichigo, who remained frozen to the spot, he was already drenched in the rain, kneeling before the crying girl and her older brother within seconds. Ichigo was just barely aware of the subtle change in his mood from goofy and overbearing to the picture of seriousness. It had struck a chord with him, too.

_Move_, he pleaded silently, willing his legs to take a step forward. It was the same. Exactly the same. He was powerless to do anything. _Move, please_.

"Ichigo," It was his father once again, but this time it had a soft undertone to it. He met his father's steady gaze with one of his own. He had brought the girl's brother into the veranda to escape the rain but he needed to be indoors, inside the clinic, to do as much as possible for him. While calm, his expression seemed slightly strained, probably both emotional from the sight of the pair as well as physical from carrying the man. "Do you think you could–"

"I...I can help dad!" Ichigo blurted out, bunching his hands into fists. He wouldn't be helpless.

"Ah," His dad seemed at a loss for words for a moment, which was surprising considering his normal demeanor. "Why don't you take..." His voice drifted off as he looked down to the girl beside him, hoping to get her name.

"Inoue Orihime," she supplied in a thin voice. She was wiping the water off of her face halfheartedly, rubbing her eyes of the tears that were coming so endlessly to her. But despite that, Ichigo could see that she was making an obvious effort to stay strong. Something inside him shifted.

"Take Orihime-chan inside while I look at her brother, Ichigo."

Ichigo looked at his at his father quizzically. He had meant he wanted to help in the clinic. Even if he couldn't do much, even if it was just handing him medicines, it was at least _something_...

But before he could question the decision, his father had disappeared into the house, leaving him and the girl alone on the porch. Ichigo sighed, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. She was sopping wet, water dripping off the strands of her hair, her school uniform, and her face and hands. She was shivering slightly, but she didn't seem to notice it. She wasn't even paying much attention to Ichigo either, just staring blindly into space at an object that seemed to be behind him. Ichigo frowned, looking at how lost she was. He had wanted to help in a more direct way, but he figured that maybe taking care of her would be just as useful. In her state, she probably wouldn't last by herself for any more than a few hours.

"Your name is Inoue, right?"

The girl was snapped out of her daze, immediately losing the faraway look. Her silver eyes blinked a few times, finally focussing on him as if registering his presence for the first time. Ichigo shifted uncomfortably under the attention; he wasn't used to such a searching gaze. But he let her have a few moments and watched her patiently, waiting for her to react to his question.

"Eh?"

"Inoue?" He simply asked her name this time and skipped the entire question. He partly wanted to ask her name again and partly wanted to bring her back to reality by referring to her without the honorific. He continued to look at her.

"O-oh!" She finally stammered, her delicate gaze shifting downwards towards her shoes, which, by the looks of it, were also drenched. He saw her fidget slightly, bringing her hands in front of her and clasping them so tightly together that the knuckles turned white. She was tense, over her brother no doubt. "Y-yes," she murmured in a voice that Ichigo had to strain to hear over the rain, "Inoue Orihime."

"I was right then," he tried to smile at her but her face appeared to be permanently fixated on the ground. He furrowed his brows again, looking at her up and down. He couldn't see much of her face anymore, but of what he could see he could tell that she was extremely red. Not to mention that she was still shivering and dripping all over the place. And even though she was trying to shrink herself into oblivion, Ichigo knew that was the absolute worst thing to do. The fact that she was on the verge of getting sick made it no better. "Hey, Inoue," He started, knowing full well that he wasn't good with talking to people, let alone girls, He just didn't want to see her cry. He scratched his head sheepishly when she raised her head, a surprised look on her face. "You had better come in. The old man would kill me if I left you out here!"

He threw her a grin, hoping that this time she would see it and be somewhat comforted. Instead, the girl, although still somewhat dazed, became impossibly darker and flustered. She raised her hands, flailing them in front of his face in such a way that he was forced to stumble backwards further than he already was, a good three feet from where Orihime stood.

"N-no! That's okay, I wouldn't want to be a burden!" She laughed nervously, her smoky eyes crinkling as they did so. Ichigo's eyes narrowed as she continued to laugh and wave her arms about, mumbling something about how _yes_, she would be fine on the porch because she was a big girl and knew how to cook by herself and was perfectly capable of keeping herself company. And how _no_, she wouldn't come in since she didn't want to make the whole house wet because it looked like a perfectly lovely home.

"Shut up!" There was only so long he could listen to her excuses; he wasn't a particularly patient person. And so he cut her off, eyeing her with a tired look. "You talk way too much." Orihime immediately stopped laughing, her mouth curving slightly downwards so that she was only partly frowning. He could tell she was on the verge of more tears, but she played it off as though it was nothing more than a slight hindrance that he told her to stop talking.

"S-sorry," she replied softly, "I tend to do that sometimes..."

Immediately he felt a pang of guilt.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" He blurted out, startling Orihime at his outburst. He berated himself inwardly when he saw the look on her face. Why couldn't he talk like a normal person? "I meant that you should just stop making excuses and come inside, because I'm sure as hell not letting you stay out here!"

He saw her face change from surprised to understanding, as well as something in between those two. Amusement? He wanted to shake his head but refrained from doing so; he didn't want to look like more of an idiot. Besides, it probably wasn't amusement. She didn't seem the type to make fun of others. He continued to frown at her.

"O-okay. Sorry," she murmured, again in that thin sing-song voice. "Thank you very much for your hospitality."

He crossed his arms and let out a huff. "Don't mention it." He sighed, placing his hands on the back of his head. She just smiled, a smile that was slightly happier than before, and linked her hands behind her. There was something about her that Ichigo couldn't put his finger on. Some sort of quality that she had which vaguely reminded him of one person...

He shook the thoughts out of his head and gave her another tired look. She still appeared a little uncomfortable around him; she was fidgeting this way and that twiddling her thumbs and staring determinedly at the ground below her. Ichigo found himself becoming more impatient by the second. "Well?"

Big gray eyes found him again. "Hmm?"

"You said you would go inside," he said, trying his hardest not to get annoyed and just barely doing so. He pointed to the door, letting out a grunt. "For the love of...just go inside, okay?"

"O-oh, sorry,"

"And stop saying sorry, it's getting annoying! You don't have anything to be sorry for!"

"So—" she began, but stopped herself when he gave her a sharp look. She promptly bit her tongue. _Smart girl_. "R-right."

Ichigo moved to the door and held it open, motioning her to go inside quickly. She flushed in response, muttering a soft "Thank you" before scuttling through the doorway and into the Kurosaki home. He then stepped in as well, closing the door behind him and letting out what seemed like the millionth sigh in fifteen minutes. This whole situation - no, the girl as well - was putting an odd strain on him. He felt different, not the cold, serious kid he had trained himself to be. He felt like he was channelling his dad's goofy inner spirit.

He shuddered.

Orihime didn't seem to notice his odd reaction. She had moved (quite conveniently) onto a mat in the kitchen, trying not to drip on the linoleum floor. She was staring in the direction of where the clinic was, that lost expression finding its way to her once again. She clasped her hands tightly to her chest when she heard the sound of scraping metal.

"Inoue," He saw her whip her head in the direction of his voice, causing small droplets of water from her hair to splay in different directions. One hit him in the face. "You don't have to stand, you know. You can sit down." He wiped the stray water droplet off of his cheek, where it had landed, and nodded in the direction of the kitchen table. He pulled open a nearby door and walked in, pulling out one of his freshly-washed towels. He closed the door behind him and tossed her the towel. "Here, use this," She caught it awkwardly and fumbled with the wrinkled blue cloth, all the while eyeing it carefully. "It's clean, I swear, it's just no one in this house has the time to fold them...or wants to fold them..." Ichigo ran a hand through her hair sheepishly and watched as she smiled slightly.

"O-oh! Oh, no, it's not that..." she bit her lip, obviously thinking something through in her head. He waited for her to finish the thought. "It's just...u-um, may I ask you your name?"

He blinked at her. His father had mentioned it before, hadn't he? Although, he probably shouldn't have expected her to catch it while she was so wound up. "Did I not say it before?" She shook her head. "Ah. Sorry. Kurosaki Ichigo,"

"Pleased to meet you," she mumbled, becoming more and more flushed by the minute. "You are...you are a very kind person, Kurosaki-kun,"

"Just for the towel? You're sopping wet, anyone would do that,"

The redhead shook her head furiously, and Ichigo gave her a questioning look. She waved her free hand at him apologetically, closing her eyes and laughing nervously. "N-no, it's nothing! Heh…"

"Okay then," Ichigo replied, sauntering over to the kitchen table. He pulled out a chair and then walked to the opposite chair and plopped himself down. He laid his head over his arms and looked over to her, trying his hardest to put on a threatening expression. If pleading didn't work, maybe being threatening would. That's how he preferred to do things, anyway. Although he was slightly hesitant this time around. "Sit down. And don't you dare say anything about making the place wet. I don't want to hear it."

Orihime didn't look phased but stumbled to the other chair willingly, clutching the towel to herself as she did so.

"That's...that's clever..." she mumbled, looking at his extended arm. He looked up slightly and followed her line of sight to the symbol on his long-sleeved shirt. "15," she murmured. "One and five. _Ichi_ and _go_. Ichigo."

"Oh yeah, I think it's pretty cool. My name can be spelt with letters _and_ numbers," he gave her a grin and proceeded to watch with fascination as her face began to get red again. It was a little funny.

"Did...did your father give you that name?" Orihime asked timidly, her face fixed on her lap. "He seems very kind as well,"

"That old man? He's as stupid as a brick wall, I doubt he would've thought of a name like that," he scoffed. Of course, with the way he acted just now, the girl would have obviously thought he was a normal person. But of all the things Kurosaki Isshin was, normal was not one of them.

Kind was also not on that list. At least to Ichigo, anyways.

The sound of laughter brought Ichigo out of his thoughts, and his gaze drifted to Orihime, who was doing her best not to chuckle too loudly. And while the laughter was subdued, Ichigo immediately felt the aura of discomfort disappear. When she was depressed, it seemed like everything became heavy. He could tell that she probably wasn't one to be sad that often. It clearly didn't suit her.

"So...so was it your mother then? Who gave you that name?"

The thought was enough to break the mood, at least for him. His face darkened slightly as the one thing he was trying to avoid thinking about rushed back to him. It was so hard not to; there wasn't one day that passed that he didn't think about his mom. Something always triggered his memories of her; the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning, the lilac bushes at the far corners of the park, a flowing yellow sun dress, even this girl, who was similar to his mom in an intangible way. He couldn't put his finger on it.

He knew his expression had changed considerably by the worried look reflected on her delicate features. "Kurosaki-kun?"

"Sorry! It's nothing, it's nothing!" he laughed nervously, trying to hide the fact that he was hurting a little. "I think it was! Your name sounds nice too, you know! Did your mom choose your name?"

Orihime noticed the quick change of subject and didn't pry. Instead, she somewhat blushed, cocked her head to one side and looked at him thoughtfully. "I...I suppose so!"

"You...suppose so?" Her choice of words had him confused. He wanted to inquire further but a thought struck his mind. "Oh, right! Do you want to let your parents know where you are? You could use the phone,"

She simply looked down at her lap anxiously, clutching the fabric of her blue school uniform between her fingers, and shook her head. Again, Ichigo was slightly puzzled. He had figured that her parents would have wanted to be there not only to support their son, but her as well. After all, she had just been through a traumatic event. And it was almost natural for a kid to want their parents; Ichigo knew that as well as anyone else, as much as he hated to admit it. He pursed his lips slightly. Yes, Orihime should have wanted her parents. So why didn't she want to call them?

He wanted to ask her, but he stopped when he saw her throw another one of her fake smiles. Although she was trying to cover it up, she was doing a terrible job of doing so. He could see tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. There was another pang of guilt, and worse, a wave of nostalgia.

"It's silly, really," she laughed slightly, wiping the drops from her eyes before they could fall. "I'm so silly! I don't...I don't really have parents! Onii-chan is all I need!"

He looked across the table, a lump in his throat. He didn't know what to say. He had never been good with words. And now, it seemed that he wasn't very good with actions, either. Who caused a girl to get upset twice within a half hour? "Inoue..."

All he knew at the moment was that he _really, really_ didn't want to cry. He had promised it to himself. _He had promised_.

He didn't have time to say or do anything, though, as the door to the clinic burst open and his hurried father bounded into the room. "Orihime-chan," he started, and by the look on his face, Ichigo felt his insides churn. "I've patched up as much as I can, but we need to get him to the main hospital. Unfortunately, we don't have the equipment needed to take care of the bigger issues. I paged an ambulance now, they should be here soon..."

At first she was still, her mouth shaped in an 'O' as she tried to understand what he was saying. Then the panic hit her again, a panic much greater than what he had seen outside just minutes ago. Ichigo's heart leapt too, especially when he saw her silver eyes widen and that all-too familiar look of desperation cross her face. "I-I need to see him," she finally whispered. She raised her voice. It trembled uncontrollably. "I-I need to s-see Sora,"

"O-oh, sure," his father stuttered as he looked at Orihime a little sadly. "But..." As the voice of his father drifted unsteadily away, Ichigo felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Onii-chan!"

"I-Inoue!" Ichigo cried, reaching out in her direction as the girl bolted out of her seat. He watched as she ran to the side door and pushed through it, her frantic cries getting louder and louder even though she, herself, was getting farther and farther. His father was hot on her heels, disappearing into the clinic and leaving Ichigo to himself. He gazed as the door swung back and forth, his hand still raised from trying to catch her. How...how had this happened? How did someone like her...have nothing now?

It was unfathomable. She was untouchable and out of his reach. He didn't have control over anything.

He was still powerless.

For the first time in three years, Ichigo cried.

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The end of the first chapter! Hope you guys liked this somewhat angsty oneshot. What I think _could_ have happened when Orihime and Ichigo met all those years ago. :) Hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know in a review what you thought of it, if you have the time! Thanks guys, and until next time... :)  
-kesshuns


	2. Fleeting

**Author's Note:** Hi all! It's me again. :) Sorry for the uber long time to update! Things have been kinda crazy for the past month-or-so, with school starting up again and everything! But I finally churned out another chapter! Finally, haha. :P Thank you so much to everyone who has read, favourited, followed, and reviewed this story! It really means to world to me. ;w; I'll get to those replies at the bottom of this chapter. :3

Anyway, onwards to the story! Background: we've skipped into the future now, what I think is the next time Ichigo and Orihime meet again. They're both 15 and starting their first day of school. I don't know if you guys watched it, but there was a certain filler Bleach episode centered around Mizuiro (I am totally blanking on the episode number - I watched it a long time ago). This is sort of inspired by that - how Ichigo met Keigo and Mizuiro. It's my take on what happened after and how Orihime relates to it!

Basically...fluff. XD I love my fluff! ;) Enjoy! :3

* * *

_Can't erase, so I'll take blame  
__But I can't accept that we're estranged  
__Without you  
__**Without You, David Guetta feat. Usher**_

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**2/Fleeting**

He had almost been late. Again.

It wasn't as if he'd slept through his alarm this time. He'd heard it perfectly fine. He just _chose_ to sleep through it.

He sighed. Now it was coming back to bite him in the ass. It was only at five minutes to eight that he'd heard Yuzu calling him down for breakfast. And even though he'd woken up with a start, checked the time, and had a mini heart attack, he had deliberately taken his sweet time getting ready. So much time, in fact, that he had to skip out on breakfast (he really couldn't have cared less, although Yuzu had been quite peeved about it) and sprint to school. Somehow, he'd managed to get in with two minutes to spare.

All that effort had only landed him the situation he dreaded most.

He glanced at the other three beside him out of the corner of his eye. One of them, a shrimpy brunette, caught his eye and gave him a forced smile. The guy had never been to the principal's office before by the looks of it, and was constantly fidgeting on the edge of his seat. It didn't help that he seemed to be frightened by him and the other two in his presence - both huge guys, both intimidating, both labelled as trouble makers. The difference was that one of those guys hadn't tried to beat the living daylights out of him. He had done the opposite.

And yet Sado Yasutora and himself had the reputation of being almost everything under the sun, from drug dealers to gang leaders to pimps (Ichigo couldn't help but blush at _that_ one - he was only fifteen for God's sake). Not like he cared what other people thought of him. It was just getting so damn annoying to interact with people like Keigo, who feared him simply because he chose to fight back when other people picked on him. He snorted, crossing is arms crossly. None of these fools knew the whole story. They simply assumed.

There was no use sulking about it now, though. Everything was said and done. All he could do was hope that Mizuiro kid could come up with an excuse good enough to get him out of this mess unscathed.

"Hey you," he hissed, leaning slightly towards the lanky boy. The latter stiffened. "You're Keigo, am I right?"

"Y-y-yes." The poor kid was so shaken up that it took all his effort just to speak. Ichigo held back a laugh while he waited for him to finish. "You're...Kurosaki-san."

"Call me Ichigo," he supplied, watching Keigo's expression change from frightened to surprised. "Don't give me that look. I'm not some monster." Keigo's eyes widened further, and Ichigo sighed. What the hell was wrong with people these days? "Actually, while we're at it, I don't sell drugs, I don't have a secret army of Mafia members prowling downtown Karakura, and I most definitely do _not_, " he could feel himself get a little warmer at the thought, "sit for hours in an adult video store. And that goes for Chad too. Got it?"

"Y-y-yes, sir!" He saluted, causing Ichigo to give him a sharp look. Keigo nearly fell off of his chair. "S-sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," he commented. "So are you sure Mizuiro can get us out of this?"

"There's no _us_," Keigo now replied more freely, putting air quotations around the 'us'. "There's a _you_, though. And a _him_." He glanced at the blonde hulk next to Chad and cringed when his look was returned with a rather menacing one of his own.

Ichigo swiftly hit him, causing him to yelp in pain. The office secretary looked up from her computer, staring at Keigo quizzically. "Ah, sorry," Ichigo jumped in, patting Keigo roughly on the back. "He must still have injuries from the horrible beating he got from Blondie over there. A beating that could be repeated at any time..." His voice drifted off and Keigo squirmed under his hand, noticing the attention he was getting not only from the secretary, but from the bleach-haired thug as well. "Isn't that right, Keigo?"

"I am seriously beginning to doubt all those rumors were false," he simply muttered. This earned a very painful shoulder squeeze from Ichigo. "O-ow! I mean, that's right!"

The secretary gave them an odd look but dismissed it with a simple shake of her head. Keigo sighed as he heard the neat clicking of her fingernails against the keyboard once again.

"Well?"

"Well what?" The brunette inquired, and upon a fruitful glare at the principal's office, Keigo clued in. "_Oh_. Well, Muzuiro's as good as they get. He's pretty smart and a good friend. A little on the flaky side, though."

Ichigo tried hitting him again, but Keigo was smart enough to dodge. Unfortunately for him, however, he bumped right into Chad. Keigo looked up at the large teen and jumped back frightfully, emitting a high-pitched squeal that had Ichigo smirking.

"Well he seems a lot more reliable than you, that's for sure."

"Ichigo, how..._how can you say that, Ichigo_?" He pouted, causing Ichigo sigh once again and run a hand through his auburn hair in frustration. Ichigo would have been lying if he said that Keigo wasn't a little annoying. Not to mention the fact that he was a drama queen.

He ignored his new friend's whining and sat back in his chair. He hoped to God that Mizuiro would come through. Although they had just met him, the boy seemed like a reliable, trustworthy, and loyal friend. But to get out of this was something that was probably hard to do, especially considering the evidence. And if the principal asked the blonde's opinion on the events...well, things wouldn't be looking good. To get expelled on the first day of high school...

His dad would be _pissed_.

"Ow, that hurts, Tatsuki-chan!"

The sound of a familiar name momentarily stopped his thoughts. He looked up and saw a petite girl with short black hair fiddling with the sleeve of another girl's uniform, her eyebrows furrowed. There appeared to be a large darkening bruise forming under the hem of the sleeve, and the raven-haired girl appeared to be rubbing it furiously all the while staring at it with an unamused look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Orihime, but you really should've dodged that last punch. I thought I taught you well enough to do at least that! What's going to happen when someone _really _comes after you?"

"But, but," The other girl, Orihime, pouted, moving back and rubbing her sore arm gently. She stuck out her lower lip, frowning as she glanced at her friend. Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo saw Keigo shift and suck in a breath. He figured that Keigo must've been ogling her looks. She was pretty, yes, but what caught his attention was her hair; it was almost exactly like his own. There was something else about her, though. Something he couldn't put his finger on. As she continued to speak, Ichigo subtly elbowed his companion. His staring was getting a little ridiculous. "In my defense, I thought you were trying to hit Chizuru-chan,"

"Damn that Chizuru," Tatsuki growled. "I swear to God, if she so much as takes one step near you-"

"Hey, Tatsuki," he interrupted, barely keeping his laughter contained. He had known the girl for quite a while and he was slightly surprised to see that her somewhat violent tendencies hadn't changed. He almost felt sorry for this Chizuru girl. "Still haven't stopped beating people up, eh?"

Beside him, Ichigo heard Keigo whisper something along the lines of, "What? You _know_ those chicks?" but he swiftly ignored him. Keigo grumbled.

"Ichigo," Tatsuki blinked a few times as she registered his face and then gave him a grin. "It's just you. Yeah, well, beating _you _up just wasn't enough."

He threw her an annoyed look right back. "Hey, that was when we were younger. There's no _way_ you would be able to take me on now,"

"Whatever you say, pretty boy," she laughed, her chocolate eyes sparkling. He stared her down with his own brown eyes, challenging her. Sometimes Tatsuki was too competitive for her own good. But Ichigo would never say that to her face. As much as he hated to admit it...she could be extremely scary when she was angry. Now, however, she simply winked at him and walked over. "So what are you doing here, anyway?"

"Nothing," he replied, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair.

"Nothing?" He opened one eye slightly at her tone of voice and was met with a pointed look at his face. Her eyes drifted from his face down to the right sleeve of his grey jacket and both his pant legs. All three areas were slightly ripped and tattered, and he knew that she could tell what they were from. She knew, even without the damaging evidence, why he was here. There really was only one explanation. "Seriously, on the first day of school?"

"It's nothing," he commented nonchalantly, leaning back on his chair and stretching his arms, "don't worry about it."

"If you get expelled today, on the day of your entrance ceremony to high school, Ichigo, I swear I will come to your house and beat you to a pulp with my own hands! _With my own hands,_" she cracked her knuckles and Ichigo almost flinched. Almost. "I can't believe you actually roughed someone up like that! You're so barbaric,"

"What about you, huh? Beating up that girl?"

He pointed to the redhead, who up until now had been painfully quiet, but was still awfully flustered. Her silver eyes widened in alarm when she registered his words and actions. Her gaze seemed to linger longer on his face, much longer than necessary, and Ichigo felt himself become slightly fidgety himself as she stared. A sense of déjà vu overwhelmed him, but he shrugged it off and continued to look at Tatsuki. But he couldn't help but glance at her friend out of the corner of his eye.

"That's different! It wasn't my fault!"

"Like hell it wasn't," he scoffed. "The poor girl has a bruise the size of an apple on her arm thanks to you."

At this the girl turned a bright crimson, a shade very similar to her blazing hair colour. Both Tatsuki and Ichigo were pulled out of their argument when they saw her shake her head furiously back and forth, the loose tendrils of her orange hair whipping around her in a fiery whirlwind. A moment later she had stopped and was holding her head as though she was dazed from the dizzying sensation her antics had caused her. She stumbled slightly but managed to steady herself on the table, and finally looked at her audience (including a very fascinated Keigo) with a sheepish expression.

"U-um," she began, chuckling nervously, "I-it really wasn't Tatsuki-chan's fault at all," she put up her hands in an apologetic manner and Ichigo felt a strange nostalgic feeling creeping up on him. "Heh, I...I should've moved."

Tatsuki stuck her tongue out at him and Ichigo made a face. He turned towards Orihime. "You don't have to be afraid of her. I can get her back for you,"

The girl went slightly darker and waved her hands in front of her. "N-no! I couldn't possibly do that..." Tatsuki sneered and mouthed 'I won', almost causing Ichigo to lose his cool. But before he could make a comment, her timid friend grabbed her by the collar and dragged her towards a nearby hallway. Tatsuki reeled backwards in surprise but somehow managed to stay on her feet. Ichigo let out a low laugh, and Tatsuki squirmed in protest. "Stop that, Tatsuki-chan," the redhead chastised, "Let's go to the nurse's office,"

Tatsuki blinked. "Oh, right," she turned and winked at Ichigo, a smug smile etched on her face. "Later, Ichigo,"

Ichigo huffed. "Uh huh," Damn Tatsuki. He was about to let them leave when he remembered something. "Hey," he called out, trying to address the ginger. He hadn't called her name but she somehow managed to figure out who he was talking to. She turned around, an unidentified look on her face. It seemed like anxiety although Ichigo couldn't be sure from the distance. "Have we met before?"

The expression was gone in a second and replaced with another nervous one. "Um, n-no! I don't think so! Let's go Tatsuki-chan!"

As he watched them walk away, he pursed his lips. No, they had definitely met. But where?

"You know Arisawa Tatsuki?"

Ichigo suddenly became aware of Keigo's presence beside him and turned to look at him dazedly. "Huh?"

"Is something going on between you two?" The brunette wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Ichigo. "I'm cool, Ichigo. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

This earned yet another punch to his gut. "As if," he replied, turning away from Keigo as he leapt out of his seat and gave the orange-haired teen a hearty glare. Ichigo was too concerned with trying to figure out where he'd seen Tatsuki's friend before. This was the first time he'd seen them together, at least. Tatsuki had never brought, let alone _mentioned_ her on the many occasions that they had met up or walked to school. This was going to bug him for the rest of the day unless he found out. "Hey, Keigo," he started, seeing the boy gingerly sitting back next to him, "Who was that other girl with Tatsuki?"

"Oh," he said, taking on another tone that Ichigo did not appreciate, "so you were eyeing Inoue Orihime? I knew it! I saw you staring at her," He looked to Ichigo with an indecent smile on his face, and pointed to his chest. "How could you not stare at her? After all—"

"Inoue," He interrupted thoughtfully, letting his mind wander slightly. _Inoue_. He could see the auburn hair against the dark backdrop of the stormy sky, the soft, tired smile, the flustered words, and her quiet voice. He saw the look of desperation, of naivety, and the heartbreaking tears when she told him she had no other family. It was her? He hadn't seen or heard of her since that day. She hadn't known how she was coping, nor had he tried to check up on her. He had been a coward, hiding from the conversation and memories he really, _really_ didn't want have. "What's her story?"

"Huh? Well she doesn't like to talk about herself. But apparently her brother passed away several years ago."

So it was her. She must've remembered it too, though. Why did she deny it?

"She lives with other relatives now?"

"Not that I know of," Keigo murmured. "Apparently she's lived on her own for a while. Some distant aunt gives her some money every month to pay for groceries and school supplies. It's why she apparently tries really hard to do well at school, although you wouldn't be able to tell from her appearance and personality,"

"Must get lonely," he commented, feeling a familiar pang of guilt. But she seemed alright now, at least. That made him feel a bit better.

"I guess," Keigo replied. "But all she needs is a little good company, if you know what I mean."

He winked and his eyes to glazed over as he started daydreaming, undoubtedly about Orihime. Ichigo returned the look and comment with a hard smack to his head, sending Keigo sprawling onto the floor before him. The kid got damn annoying, that was for sure. "That's enough, you pervert,"

Keigo continued to whine at Ichigo but he wasn't paying attention. His mind was somewhere far, in another time, with another person. Did she...did she not want him to remember that night? Did she, herself, not want to bring back those horrible memories? It wasn't hard to think that was the case; after all, it was the night everything had been taken away from her. But he couldn't help but feel as though there was something else to it. Something that had to do specifically with him.

He sighed softly, leaning back in his seat and droning out Keigo's incessant complaints. It was too tiring to think anymore.

Ichigo let himself run on autopilot for the rest of the day.

* * *

There's the conclusion to the second chapter! A little less angsty and a lot more fluffy haha. I would appreciate any reviews with feedback, if you guys feel like it! Just to see how I'm keeping up with things, how the characters are, etc. :) Let me know! 3 Thanks once again guys, and until next time!  
-kesshuns

**Reviews**

To **mayuka**, **RainingLight1**, **Chikasumi Kurotsuki**, and **DevilTito**: First of all, thank you guys _so_ much for reviewing! It was so sweet for you guys to take the time to leave a comment. :) I'm glad the story's been okay so far! 3 Each of those reviews really made me smile, and gave me the motivation to continue the story more. :) I love you! 33 :)

To **Guest**: Thank you so much for the review as well! I really appreciated the feedback! 3 I recall her saying that Sora named her - however, I didn't have time to search for the exact reference and tweak that part of the story! So for the time being, I guess we'll call it an "AU" where Orihime's mother might have named her haha. :P When I have time, though, I shall tweak up the first part. :3 Again, thank you so much for that review! It really helped me out. 33

To **juliiia**: Omg JULIA. Thank you so much aksjhdskjsh. 3 I know I already told you this, but that review made me smile a tonne. I love you, ok? I'm glad that you liked it ahhh it really means a lot to me. ;A; Miss you lovely! Hope to talk to you soon as well. ;w;


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